Cross My Heart
by RainAwhile
Summary: Fly me up to where you are beyond the distant star. I wish upon tonight to see you smile, if only for awhile to know you're there"


Neo held her tightly yet gently, trying to sooth her. Tank was dying. The wound that Cypher had inflicted had become infected and there was nothing they could to. Trinity was trying to be strong, he could tell but every now and then a tear would roll down her pale cheeks.

It had happened so suddenly. Everyone was going about their own business, fixing up the ship. Trinity was in the engine room. Morpheus and Neo were patching up tears in the ships hull while Tank worked in the Core, rerouting the various feeds. Trinity was already falling into depression after so many of her friends had died. It was she, who found him and alerted the others. She had thought Tank would be hungry, so she had gotten him something to eat from the mess hall. She had called out his name as she approached the Core. The tray of food fell, it's clanging noise echoing throughout the room.

Trinity screamed. Tank was lying in a pool of his own blood on the ground. She had seen things like this almost everyday of her life, but this time it was different. This time it was real, and this time it was someone she cared about. Neo and Morpheus had dropped their tools and quickly equipped themselves with weapons and bolted into the Core, ready to shoot. Trinity was paler than usual. Neo dropped his weapon and put a hand on her shoulder. She was extremely tense. Suddenly, her eyes rolled back and she fell backwards. Neo quickly caught her, his small muscles straining against her weight, although she wasn't that heavy. They had gotten Tank into the med bay as fast as they could, knowing he needed more help than Trinity at the moment. Neo had taken her to their room and laid her gently on the bed. He placed a kiss on her forehead and left, ready to aide Morpheus.

When Trinity woke up, Neo was there, holding her. She didn't bother to hide her emotions. She gripped Neo's sweater tightly, her knuckles turning white. She didn't understand it. Why did everyone close to her have to go? At least she was able to bring one of them back. She looked up at Neo, who gazed at her lovingly. He planted a kiss on the crown of her head and she shifted closer to him. He rubbed her back soothingly. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

When she woke up, Neo was still there, but his head had tipped to the side and his breath was heavy with sleep. She shuffled out of his arms carefully, as to not wake him and shifted him into a more comfortable position knowing that his neck would be extremely sore if his kept it like that. Neo stirred and looked into Trinity's face. He could almost feel her pain as he took her into his arms again. She hated being this weak, but she couldn't help it. She lay in his arms for hours when a knock on the door came, followed by Morpheus' solemn voice.

"Trinity? He…wants to talk to you." Trinity listened to his footsteps until they were gone. She looked at Neo through her teary eyes, who nodded. She thanked him with a grateful look and slowly walked out of the room.

She kept her eyes lowered, not wanting to look at his injured, dying body. She fiddled with the loose threads of her sweater. "Hey," she said in a ghostly whisper. "Hey," he responded, his voice sounding tired. "Trin?" 'Hmm?" "Come here." She obeyed, not looking up. She kneeled next to the cot, still fiddling with the threads. They sat in silence for a moment, Tank's slow, shallow breaths were all that could be heard. Suddenly, Tank's hands were on hers, stopping her probing fingers.

"Trinity, look at me." She pretended not to hear him. "Trin…." She couldn't deny his request. Reluctantly, she looked up to see his pained, yet smiling face. It hurt her inside to see him that way. No matter how much pain or sorrow he was feeling, he would always keep a smiling face. "I'm…sorry," she managed to chock out. Tank chuckled quietly. "For what, Trin? You know you couldn't have done anything, you were still jacked in." She nodded. "Exactly, if I had been-" He cut her off by pulling her into a hug. "Trinity, you did your best, and that's all anyone has ever asked of you, alright? I know that you would have done everything possible if you had been there, but it was physically impossible for you to be there. I understand Trinity. It's not your fault. Understand?" She nodded and pulled away.

"Tank, I…" She stopped. She wasn't sure if she was ready to say this or not, but she knew she had to, if she waited any longer, it might be too late. "I love him." She waited for his response and felt embarrassed as his face gained a comical expression. "No shit, Trin. You share a room and are just about attached at the hip. You always seem to be touching in some way, G-rated out here. Who knows what R-rated stuff goes on in your room?" She wanted to smack him, but didn't. She knew it was true, except the R-ratedness of their relationship.

She smiled. Only Tank could make jokes at times like these. Suddenly a pained expression overcame his face. He squeezed his eyes shut. The moment past and his breaths became shorter. "Trinity," he breathed. "I have to go soon." She nodded. "Tank?" He breathed his response. "Please….tell them for me. Tell them I love him. I don't care if they laugh, just…please." Tank opened his eyes and made it clear he wanted to hug her again. She moved into his arms and hugged him back. "I promise. I'll tell 'em, don't you worry, sis." He stopped for one last breath. "Cross my heart."

Those were his last words. She knew he'd keep his promise, he'd crossed his heart.

And for the next hour, Trinity hugged his limp, breathless body as tightly as she could, sobbing quietly into his shoulder.


End file.
